posted on July 15, 2001 11:57:53 PM
That might be true on items that are not rare, but rare items command the highest prices still, so if there is 10 of your items up for bid and 30 in completed auctions, put something else up. Ed
edhdsn
posted on July 16, 2001 03:39:55 AM
Oh ya, like I care what Terry Kovel has to say about the prices of antiques & collectibles.
YAWN
I've been selling on eBay for 4 years, and although in some categories prices have dropped, in other areas todays prices are far better than they were back in 97.
What does one expect when a 100 like items are listed in the same week? The trick is to sell items that are unique, or hard to find.
Simple supply & demand.
BTW - There are still plenty of "rare" items listed on ebay each & every week, and the buyers are still hitting those items just as hard [or better] than they were back in the glory days of 97-98.
posted on July 16, 2001 04:04:52 AM
I do have a personal example of how this effects people. My step - Mother had a store for years and sold those little figurines "All God's Children"
When ever she got a new shipment of them she set aside one for herself of any new ones and over a period of years got a tremendous collection of them. Whem she started there was no online market and the resale prices were driven by the fact that the number of each issue were limited and dispersed over a wide geographic area. It was very hard for someone to find older issues and the price was high when they did. Just a few stores specialized in them and it was a major investment of time and knowledge to deal with them.
Now it is so easy to find them on eBay the unit price has dropped as much as 90% from the highs reached before.
posted on July 16, 2001 04:31:23 AM
I sell antique tools and Snap-On tools. Prices have went down about 20% on Snap-On. The antique tools have dropped closer to 50% This is in 3 years I have been doing eBay.
I won an auction this week for $70.00 I sold the same item a little over a year ago for $325.00 .
posted on July 16, 2001 04:50:37 AM
Just to add a note:
When AuctionBytes accumulated it's data that showed an average 25% price drop in collectibles, we weren't collecting data for that purpose. It was when we compared the closing prices from 1 to 1-1/2 years ago to closing prices in May that the trend presented itself very clearly. Subsequently, the TIAS results showed that across over 18,000 items, there was a drop of 39.5% in prices realized for collectibles. The interesting part was eBay's reaction to the reports. (the WSJ also did their own, small study showing the same results)
May 3, 2001 - "There is not a shred of truth to this report," said eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove. "eBay's marketplace is thriving -- you can't single out an item like collectibles, since we have 4,500 or 4,600 categories, with 6 million items listed on any given day."
June 7, 2001 - eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove questioned whether the survey results might have been influenced by the mix of products that TIAS sellers listed or the initial prices for which they offered their items. But eBay has seen an increase in listings across the site, and that might have depressed prices, he said.
"We don't have any reason to dispute TIAS or any of their figures," Pursglove said.
All that being said, I do agree with kiowak that unique, one-of-a-kind items will still do remarkably well on eBay.
posted on July 16, 2001 07:11:49 AMI won an auction this week for $70.00 I sold the same item a little over a year ago for $325.00
Which really doesn't say much.
I've sold items that ended at less than $50, and the same item 2 weeks later sold for close to $200. This was back in 98.
I see the same thing at RL auctions all the time. You need at least 2 serious bidders/collectors in order to have an auction. Remove one of those buyers and you have a bargain basement sale, and in that respect eBay is no different.
I get a kick out of some of the new eBayites that THINK everything you list on eBay will fetch HUGE buckaroos. As most fulltime sellers know, it just aint so.
There are buyers/collectors that will hop on eBay, drop 1-10 K to finish of a collection, then are pretty much gonzo.
Some may stay & move on to other collections, or simply look for the bargain basement deals.
The only thing that has changed since 97 is that there are now FAR more sellers offering like items, than there are buyers available to purchase all these items.
What happens is obvious, the buyers bid way HIGH on the truely unique and/or rare items, and the rest go for somewhat bargain prices.
IMO books like Ralph & Terry Kovels tainted the brain cells of the ignorant dealers for many years, and now it's simply time for a reality check.
eBay's a fickle market, and it always has been.
Over the years I've seen numerous sellers dwelling on what the best time is to list, or have an auction end. IMO what is far more important, is taking a look and seeing when the heavy hitters are out shopping, and holding your items back until the market is ripe for the picking.
Let's face it, in todays eBay market, selling common easy to find items is NOT the way to make money, unless you're picking those items up for next to nothing.
That article really shouldn't come as a BIG surprise to anyone that's been in this for the long haul.
